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Ontario Region media release
 Previous release Media release index Next release February 11, 2009 The Ontario Divisional Court ruled today that the Region of York owed a legal duty of fairness to a non-profit housing co‑operative which the Region was attempting to abolish and absorb, and that the Region had failed to meet that duty. In the end, the Court referred the matter to another court, saying the Co‑op should get “ample opportunity to fully and fairly address all issues”. In February 2008, the Regional Municipality of York decided behind closed doors to force the sale of Thornhill Green Co‑operative Homes to its own housing company, Housing York Inc., for little more than half of the co‑op’s market value. Thornhill Green, supported by the Co‑operative Housing Federation of Canada, went to court to judicially review the Region’s decision. The case was heard in the Ontario Divisional Court this past December. In a decision released today by the three judge panel of the Divisional Court, the Court agreed with all of the concerns and all of the legal points of the Co‑operative Housing Federation of Canada and of Thornhill Green Housing Co‑operative. In its decision, the Court ruled that “…the Service Manager [the Region] is required to provide reasonable notice to the co‑op of its intentions, and to provide the co‑op with a meaningful opportunity to make submissions, before the Service Manager makes a decision.” (para. 91) This had not been done by the Region (para. 53). The Court also emphasized the special nature of non-profit co‑operative housing: “A co‑op is an independently-functioning entity distinct from the Region, and must have a hand in determining its own destiny. … It was an error for the Region to treat this important feature as immaterial”. (para.90) Although the Court agreed with all the legal points raised by CHF Canada and Thornhill Green Co‑op, the Court in the end decided not to set aside the decision of the Region. The Court referred the continuing issues to other pending legal proceedings, where it said that the Co‑op will have “ample opportunity to fully and fairly address all issues.” Jim Common, president of Thornhill Green Co‑op, said of the decision: “The Court made it clear that the Region had a duty of fairness to us and that the Region had contravened that duty. The Court also chastised the Region for not paying attention to the importance of our Co‑op status. Our hope would now be that the Region can switch from a destructive and secretive mode to a constructive and consultative mode.” Harvey Cooper, Manager of Government Relations for the Ontario Region of the Co‑operative Housing Federation of Canada, said: “We are very pleased that the Court recognized the special status and special value of Co‑ops such as Thornhill Green, and that the court recognized that the Region should have meaningfully consulted with Thornhill Green Co‑op about the way forward. We think that by working together, this form of good-neighbour housing can be fostered instead of undermined.” Murray Klippenstein, lead legal counsel for Thornhill Green, noted that “it’s a bit odd that the Court agreed with all of the Co‑op’s legal points, and then declined to give the expected Order at the end. However, if the Region gives some thought to what the Court said about the Region’s duty of fairness and the special nature of a housing co‑op, maybe this can be resolved outside of more litigation.” The Co‑op and CHF Canada have already proposed to the Region a number of comprehensive management and governance options to address any issues that they may have in these areas. For more information contact:
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